Effect of Having a Personal Healthcare Provider on Access to Dental Care Among Children

Background: The current study examines the relationship between having a personal healthcare provider (PHP) and a child's receipt of dental visits during the preceding year. Whether the PHP relationship ameliorates rural/urban differences among US children was also examined. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health augmented with county-level ecological data from the 2003 Area Resource File. Independent variables were preventive dental visits and any dental visits. Control variables were demographic variables, special healthcare needs, health insurance, dental insurance, and primary care and dental HPSA status. Multiple logistic regression models were used to adjust for covariate effects. Results: Children with PHPs were more likely to have received preventive dental care and less likely to have received no dental care at all. Children who lacked PHPs were less likely to have received preventive care and more likely to lack any dental visit. Rural children, regardless of PHP status, were less likely to have received preventive care and more likely to have made no dental visit. Conclusion: While having a PHP improves the likelihood a child will have dental visits in a year, the effect is not as strong for rural as for urban.